Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Yesterday a Joint Stipulation and Order was entered into between investors in Employee Retirement System (ERS) bonds issued in 2008 and the Governor, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Commonwealth’s OMB and the ERS. The Joint Stipulation and Order is available here. The Order Approving Stipulation, Setting Aside Hearing and Dismissing Case is available here.

We have written extensively about the ERS bonds. You can find our blog posts on the conflicted ERS bond offerings here.

The gist of the Stipulation appears to be that, for the time being at least, all Employers’ (Government) Contributions into the ERS will be set aside for the benefit of bond holders until some further determination is reached.

The net effect on Puerto Rico residents is mixed.

Much of the ERS bonds are held in UBS PR, Popular and Santander managed closed-end funds and these in turn are owned by Puerto Rico residents. We’ve written about these funds here.

To the extent the ERS bonds are held directly or indirectly by Puerto Rico investors, any reduction in ERS retiree benefits implemented to pay bond holders will be a transfer from some Puerto Rico residents to other Puerto Rico residents. Even to the extent the ERS bonds are held by non-Puerto Rico investors, any reduction in ERS retiree benefits implemented to pay bond holders will be a transfer from current ERS beneficiaries to past ERS beneficiaries whose payments were funded with ERS bond proceeds or the running down of the ERS assets.

As Alexander Hamilton successfully and fruitfully argued, current bondholders need to be paid regardless of how much they paid for the debt if an issuer’s credit is to be restored. Calling some portion of current bondholders vultures or speculators doesn’t advance the interest of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, Puerto Rico residents are our brothers and sisters as surely as Detroit residents and Jefferson County Residents.

Let’s hope that a resolution quickly arises which recognizes bondholder rights as well as the crushing poverty currently afflicting Puerto Rico.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

In January 2017, a FINRA arbitration panel in San Juan, PR ordered UBS
Financial Services and UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico to pay at least
$18,215,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and
expert witness costs. It also denied the Respondents' Counterclaim to
recover a large debit balance. You can read the award here. Dr. McCann
testified on liability and damages over UBS Puerto Rico's sale of UBS Puerto
Rico municipal bond closed end funds.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

In January 2017, a FINRA arbitration panel in Richmond, VA ordered Interactive Brokers to pay at least $1,930,000 in compensatory damages, debt cancellation and attorney's fees. You can read the award here. Dr. McCann testified on liability - specifically on whether VXX ETNs and options on VXX ETNs were eligible for portfolio margin - and damages.

Disclaimer

This website and its content are for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions on this site are those of the authors and should not be considered investment advice. Decisions based on information obtained from this website are your sole responsibility, and before making any decision on the basis of this information, you should consider whether the information is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances. Investors should seek financial advice regarding the suitability of investing in any securities or following any investment strategies.